[Adta] Videotaping Future Conferences

Sun Oct 7 21:04:11 EDT 2007

Donna,

I loved what you said to your children "imagine how much of a culture shock it is for us, who move so easily and attempt to be embodied, to live in a world which doesn't value expressive body movement".  What a great teaching moment with them... and for me. I've never thought of our explosions onto the annual conference dance floors in those terms but ... exactly!  I've also shared anecdotes with non-dmts about how we fill up the floor in 10 seconds flat. It's a great illustrative image.

And I LOVE LOVE LOVE your idea about videotaping the conference in it's entirety. It's so brilliant it seems obvious but why haven't we done this before? Simply a money issue?  Maybe we could reach out to graduate level film depts in the upcoming cities where the conferences will be (Austin and Portland) and see if we couldn't get soon-to-be professionals to help us do that with professional level skill and less than professional level funding? That's just brilliant, I think. What great PR and educational opportunities.

I hope we can make that happen.  What do others think? Are there snafus other than money that others foresee?

Lora Wilson, MA, DTR

From: dbluebirds at rcn.comTo: writelora at hotmail.com; adta at adta.orgSubject: Conference highlights & educating the publicDate: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 09:00:32 -0400

Hello Lora, Heather, Jenn, and Everyone,

Lora, you sparked quite a lot of neurons in my brain. You made me want to learn more about neuro-science and dance therapy myself.

It is very difficult to limit myself in describing the highlights of the conference. It was everything that people have named: the dance choir in the streets, the ending dance choir ritual honoring new DTR's and ADTR's, Marcia Leventhal's speech and the accompanying dance, Christina Deveraux's p.r. slide and NY chapter's new video, the Duncan dance performance, Libby Skala's performance about Elizabeth Polk, Stacey Hurst's workshop, presenting my own work, hanging out and dancing with like-thinking-moving people, sharing my profession with my daughter and my step-son, and selling octabands!!!! How rich and integrated our work is becoming.

Lora, your story struck me as very familiar. Sometimes, when I am feeling particularly elated from a wonderful experience, it seems that something happens which knocks me off my feet, and both infuriates and humbles me. When infuriated, such as when our movement therapy department was "eliminated" from New England Rehabilitation Hospital, I have used that energy to write, and that has been some of my best writing. At that time, I wrote a list of cultural values, which I'm not sure I ever published in any form, but Heather's post reminded me of it. I also used that as the basis for writing a letter to the editor of my local newspaper, which was printed.

So, I'd like to share an idea that I had at the conference. During our Saturday night dance, which is always my favorite part of the conference, I was seeing us from my step-son's and daughter's eyes in my own mind. Within 10 seconds of the music beginning, I'd say 90% of us were on the dance floor. My daughter laughingly said how different this was from most dances, where usually 2 or 3 couples get out on the dance floor, and slowly people join. I asked my step-son if this were a bit of a culture shock, and he said "a little". To which I responded, "imagine how much of a culture shock it is for us, who move so easily and attempt to be embodied, to live in a world which doesn't value expressive body movement". I started thinking about creating a video of us on the dance floor, but it didn't take long for me to realize that this would not help us gain professional credibility. 

However, a videotape of the conference as a whole would be another story. It would demonstrate the many levels where we take our work. I began wondering how much it would cost to produce such a video, and if it would be feasible. Would it be useful, do you think, as an additional tool to show who and what dance/movement therapists are?

I also have to respond, Lora, to your attitude: "as I let that interaction sit me with throughout the rest of the day I observed it change from anger and defensiveness to a CALL TO ARMS.  I began to reframe that interaction and be grateful for it, painful as it was in the moment.  I have WORK to do here. Thank you, social worker, for reminding me that the majority of the hospital staff here really have no idea what I do and why it works and how it works. Thank you, social worker, for jolting me out of my complacency... AT A TIME, when I am MOST fueled with new knowledge and connections and networking support. THANK YOU  for inspiring me to review the conference proceedings and journal articles and pitch to my Director of Nursing that I do an inservice for the clinical staff (yes, the psychiatrists and the doctors and the social workers) on Mirror Neurons and D/MT and speak to them on their terms so that they might finally understand. Thank you for stirring such indignation in me that I have no choice but to stand up before my colleagues and insist upon educating them."

This is such a wonderful transformation of energy, and this IS the dance that we do. I am not only interested in our interface with neuroscience, I am interested in our interface with physics, and with mathematics, because what we ALL do is interconnected.

Lora, it would be interesting to go back to that social worker, acknowledge her embarrasment, your shock, and ask her for help. Ask her what her association to dance is, and find out why the image of people dancing in the streets was so amusing. It's undoubtedly for a good reason.

And, Jenn, write a letter to the editor about that killer game. We need to use the energy we have to make happen (see dance) what is closest to our hearts and minds.

Thanks to everyone for such inspiration.

Donna

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